Comparative phylogenetic relationship between wild and cultivated <i>Prunus yedoensis</i> Matsum. (Rosaceae) with regard to Taquet’s collection

Abstract

As an attempt to determine the identity of the old trees of flowering cherries planted in the yard of the Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu, we conducted comparative phylogenetic analyses between wild and cultivated Prunus yedoensis Matsum. We generated the phylogeny (MP) and haplotype network (TCS) of 25 individuals, including wild P. yedoensis, from Jeju Island, cultivated P. yedoensis `Somei-yoshino` from Korea and Japan, and P. spachiana f. ascendens (Makino) Kitam. from Jeju Island and Japan based on highly informative sequences of two cpDNA regions (rpl16 gene and trnS-trnG intergenic spacer). The wild and cultivated P. yedoensis were distinguished from each other in both the phylogeny and haplotype networks, and the old flowering cherry trees in Daegu had a cpDNA haplotype identical to that of the cultivated P. yedoensis `Someiyoshino`. Compared to the cultivated P. yedoensis `Somei-yoshino`, wild P. yedoensis appears to have greater haplotype diversity, presumably originating from the genetic diversity of P. spachiana f. ascendens that functioned as a maternal parent in the hybrid origin of wild P. yedoensis. A future detailed study requires extensive sampling of P. spachiana f. ascendens from Japan and Korea to determine their precise phylogenetic relationships relative to wild and cultivated P. yedoensis. We concluded that the old flowering cherry trees planted in the yard of the Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu are highly likely to be of cultivated origin rather than wild types from Jeju Island, as previously speculated.